We have seen the Chicago Bears perform on many different levels this season. In Week 1, the team was lucky enough to have the defense play at an elite level while Will Levis struggled. That was an ugly win as Caleb Williams threw for less than 100 yards. In Week 2, the Bears lost to the Texans in what ended up being a fairly close game. Week 3 was the worst, though, as the team lost to the Colts in a game where coaching decisions, play calling, and personnel choices caused problems. A game they should have won. Now, the team seems to have found an identity as they won three straight.
Even while riding a three-game winning streak, not everything has been coming up roses for the Chicago Bears. Sure, the offensive line has looked better during this span, but can they be trusted to execute against better competition? Caleb Williams continues to develop and progress, but that doesn't mean the team is without holes.
Many Bears fans are split on their opinions regarding Ryan Poles. It is not like Poles has been perfect, but he has also put together a strong team on paper. Despite this, the Bears sit in last place in the NFC North. Now, to be fair, that is because the NFC North is currently the most dominant division in the NFL with a collective record of 19-6.
One cannot help but wonder if the team would be tied for first had Ryan Poles not made these two colossal mistakes with the current roster.
Looking back at the results of the 2022 NFL Draft, the biggest flaw in Ryan Poles' strategy was the selection of Velus Jones in the third round. Jones went off the board as the 71st player selected. He was supposed to be a speedy option for Justin Fields to build a repertoire with but that never happened. In fact, Jones has yet to amount to much of anything in the NFL and Fields is now the backup quarterback in Pittsburgh. Crazy how quickly things can change within the NFL.
The one area I am not fond of how Ryan Poles has attacked the roster is the offensive line. Drafting Darnell Wright over Jalen Carter was the right decision -- even if Wright doesn't turn out to be a star. The Bears needed to heavily address the trenches over the last three years and outside of Wright, the way Poles has built the offensive line has been below average at best. Trying to piece together the interior of the line with guys like Coleman Shelton, Ryan Bates, Patrick Sheldon, Lucas Patrick, etc. is not good enough. Poles has stated he wants to build through the draft - we need more OL.
Well, if we look back at who was available when the Chicago Bears selected Velus Jones, the Bears had other options along the offensive line that would have made as big, if not a bigger, impact on the roster as Jones.
— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024
Jones has done more harm than good over his career and even moving him to running back has not been able to rejuvenate his career. Poles could have traded him, yet he held onto him just to watch him be inactive most weeks. Instead, the team could have had Bernhard Raimann competing with Braxton Jones. Jones was a fifth-round draft pick of Poles in 2022 but has not proven enough to be the unquestioned starter. Selecting Raimann in the third round could have allowed Poles to go in another direction when he selected Jones, or he could have taken both and had a competition.
Sean Rhyan, Dylan Parham, Abraham Lucas, and Daniel Faalele are a few offensive linemen the Bears should have taken over Velus Jones. Even if they were focused on a WR at that point, Romeo Dobbs or Khalil Shakir would have been better options. However, drafting offensive linemen often until you find the right ones makes the most sense. Build through the trenches!
I am sure most Bears fans point to the Chase Claypool trade as being a colossal mistake. It wasn't a great trade, but the process made sense at the time. However, I am more concerned with the moves made by Ryan Poles in the draft. Why? Because building through the draft is the most important part of building a sustainable, successful franchise.
Now, I will applaud Poles for his decision to double down at the defensive line position in 2023. First, the team selected Gervon Dexter after passing on Jalen Carter for Darnell Wright. All signs point to this being a great decision. With the first pick in the third round, Poles grabs Zacch Pickens. The problem is not the process, it is the player. Pickens did little to make an impact in his rookie season last year. He did not flash enough in preseason and a groin injury has kept him off the field through the first seven weeks of the season. Not great.
Seeing your third-round picks struggle to see the field in back-to-back seasons is not a good look, whether the struggle is based on injury or lack of production. Although the 2024 season has kept Pickens on the sideline due to an injury, that was not the case during his rookie season in 2023. Instead, he struggled to see the field due to his inability to make high-impact plays.
Last year, Pickens saw 25% of the defensive snaps. In those 262 snaps, he only finished with 18 tackles (9 solos). From a pass-rush perspective, Pickens only had 8 pressures and one sack. He looked a little better to start the season in 2024 but has not stood out like Gervon Dexter. In his seven snaps this year, he has 2 pressures, which in the short term looks fantastic. However, he just does not jump off the tape. Hopefully, Pickens can prove my opinion wrong, but it seems like a misstep by Ryan Poles in the draft again.
If the Chicago Bears were to have looked to the opposite side of the ball instead, a few names I would have liked to see Poles select over Pickens are Nick Saldiveri, Blake Freeland, or Ricky Stromberg. Prospects I liked more than Pickens going into the 2023 NFL Draft who could have been selected by the Bears in the third round include Byron Young, Tank Dell, Zach Harrison, Josh Downs, and YaYa Diaby.
I did not even have a third-round grade on Pickens. Not sure what Poles and his staff saw that made them think he was worthy of the 64th overall pick. I had late second or third-round grades on the rest of the names I listed.
Now, I will say that these two missteps seem relatively minimal. No general manager in the NFL is perfect. These two draft selections, unfortunately, stand out right now as the team continues to struggle with the interior of the offensive line, and the defensive line has looked strong without Zacch Pickens on the field. I would have loved to see some of the other prospects I mentioned competing on this roster. Overall though, I feel good about the direction Poles has taken the Bears.
